News: Tire Recycling & Pyrolysis

At the 2020 Tyre Recycling Forum speakers will shed light on pyrolysis and rubber devulcanization industries. Tyromer’s leading experts will take part in discussions and will tell about developments of their US-based project. Organizers anticipate an ETRMA speaker to reveal the state of the EU market, and Peter Taylor will share his insights about the UK market amid Brexit concerns.

Italian startup Rubber Conversion specialized in tire rubber devulcanization took late last month the most prestigious prize at the Keynes Sraffa Award at Church House Conference Centre in Westminster, London. The prize was awarded to the business’s developer and brand manager Cveta Majtanovic who is a double-degree PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Trento. Rubber Conversion is the Italian business that relies on its patented rubber devulcanisation system handling rubber waste. The authoritative bodies have dubbed this technology the most innovative solution to scrap tire rubber materials reuse by means of devulcanization. Rubber Conversion operates as a spin-off from Innovando Srl, a waste managing company that handles more than 60,000 tons of waste each year.

The well attended bi-annual Scrap Tire Recycling Conference was held at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, South Carolina, and was organized by The Scrap Tire Research and Education Foundation (STREF). An a-propos location, since the state hosts the largest tire manufacturing industry and two major automobile assembly plants (BMW and Volvo). Attendance was higher than ever before, attesting to the fact that sustainable rubber manufacturing, tire recycling and pyrolysis are hot topics.

ECO Green Equipment – one of the leading manufacturers of tire recycling equipment worldwide – recently announced that its new primary tire shredder Green Giant is currently available in stock for immediate purchase. According to the manufacturer, the two-shaft tire shredder has unique blade design and ultra-high performance. Two shafts with 384 hardened steel knives shred scrap car tires, truck tires, chopped and debeaded mining tires, semi-OTR and pieces of OTR tires swiftly and efficiently.

South Carolina state agencies started last week the waste management campaign fighting unsanctioned tire dumping in the Palmetto State. The move was made at the Scrap Tire Recycling Conference in Greenville. The authoritative bodies South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Department of Natural Resources and waste managing organization PalmettoPride are behind the scrap tire project named "See It, Report It". The initiative appeals to locals and encourages them to anonymously notify special services via the Litter Buster Hotline whenever they spot illegal tire dumps. Once the call is received, the state agencies can take action aimed at waste tire reduction.

The tire waste management scheme, RepakELT launched in Ireland two years ago demonstrated effectiveness as the country managed to recycle 97 percent of scrap tires during the first year of the project, the Irish Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Richard Bruton T.D. said in a recent report. The official emphasized that the scheme is being further worked on as it received 15 recommendations for improvement; stakeholders are expected to consider them. Burton also stressed that it was important to make tire manufacturers take responsibility for the environmental impact of tires.

A student from Mexico has created a self-repairing asphalt made out of recycled rubber from scrap tires and special additives, which help asphalt escape damage caused by rainwater. Moreover, rain would result in repairing roads as it would serve as a recovery agent, according to the innovation inventor, The Coahuila Autonomous University student Israel Antonio Briseño Carmona. The self-repairing pavement material created by Carmona mostly consists of end-of-life tires, thus, it is probably the first type of asphalt with recycled tire rubber that can, reportedly, handle damage caused by water, such as cracks and potholes, in the long term.

A number of tests and scientific research in Italy have shown that rubber obtained via tire recycling presents a more comfortable horse-riding experience and offers sustainably improved equestrian arena management. In addition, recycled rubber is more cost-efficient, can protect the horse’s joints and result in less dust in the air compared to conventional flooring with sand, according to the tests.

US-based Bridgestone announced recently that it has commenced producing tires containing carbon black (rCB) at its facility in Des Moines. In tire production, the company relies on carbon black supplies from its partner Delta-Energy, and uses its product, D-E Black, as the only source of the recycled material. Currently, Bridgestone has bought some 215 metric tons of Delta Energy’s rCB – this is the equivalent of over 60,000 scrap tires. By the end of next year, the company expects to apply around 6,800 of D-E Black, which would reduce over 20 million pounds of carbon emissions.